Providing Property Tax Relief Since 1999
At Kensington Research and Recovery, we take a lot of satisfaction in being able to help ease the property tax burden for Chicago-area homeowners.
But for inspiration, we pair up once a year with an organization that devotes its efforts to helping people without homes, among other needy clients.
The Inspiration Cafe in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood provides what it describes as “hot, nutritious meals” to its clients, 365 days a year.
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The pressures facing taxing authorities in Chicago and in Cook County are unlikely to change any time soon. But paying all the taxes needed to close the budget gaps and meet all of those pension obligations is a constantly shifting process. A tax break in one place means some other place will be expected to make up the difference.
That’s the zero-sum nature of tax collection in an environment where budget cutting isn’t a practical or political option.
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The Cook County Board of Review has opened the fourth group of townships for 2018 property tax appeals. If your property is located in one of the 4 townships listed below the Board’s deadline to appeal your 2018 assessed value is November 13th.
Each year homeowners have an opportunity to appeal their property’s assessment at the Assessor’s office and at the Board of Review. You do not need to have filed an appeal at the Assessor’s office in order to file an appeal at the Board of Review. In addition, even if you appealed successfully at the Assessor’s office you still have an opportunity to file a second appeal for tax year 2018 at the Board of Review. Appealing at the Board may result in additional savings.
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Triennial reassessment notices were mailed to South Chicago Township property owners on Wednesday, September 12th. South Chicago valuation statistics from the Cook County Assessor’s office can be found here. Homeowners in South Chicago Township have one month to appeal their assessment at the Assessor’s office (there is also a second opportunity later in the year at the Board of Review). The deadline for appealing your assessment at the Assessor’s office is Friday, October 12th.
South Chicago Township is the final township to be reassessed in this year’s triennial reassessment of the city’s townships.
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A small change in the law governing the way refunds for overpaid property taxes are administered in Cook County will speed up the process for some claimants by raising the annual cap on total refund payments.
Prior to the amendment, which took effect upon the governor’s signature earlier this month, a provision in the Property Tax Code allowed the County to delay property tax refunds for overpayments or erroneous payments until the next calendar year if the total amount of refunds paid out hit a cap of $2.5 million. That meant that a particularly sizable refund, like one due on a large commercial property, could quickly push refund payments over the cap and cause smaller refunds to be held up.
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The 3rd group of townships has opened at the Cook County Board of Review for 2018 property tax appeals. If your property is located in one of the 6 townships listed below the Board’s deadline to appeal your 2018 assessed value is Tuesday, October 9th.
Regardless of if your appeal at the Assessor’s office earlier this year was successful or denied, or even if you didn’t appeal at the assessor level, everyone has a second chance to appeal at the Board of Review to ensure their assessed value is fair.
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Assessment notices for 2018 were mailed by the Cook County Assessor’s office to Bloom Township property owners on Thursday, September 6th. The 30 day window for homeowners in Bloom Township to appeal their assessments is now open until the deadline of Tuesday, October 9th.
The following suburbs are located in Bloom Township: Chicago Heights, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Glenwood (almost all), Homewood (portion), Lansing, Lynwood, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Sauk Village (almost all), South Chicago Heights, and Steger.
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North Chicago Township triennial reassessment notices were mailed on Wednesday, September 5th by the Cook County Assessor’s office. North Chicago valuation statistics from the Assessor’s office can be found here. Homeowners in North Chicago Township have 30 days to appeal their assessment at the Assessor’s office (there is also a second opportunity later in the year at the Board of Review). The deadline for appealing your assessment at the Assessor’s office is Friday, October 5th.
We recommend reviewing your assessment annually, especially in a year when your township is reassessed, to ensure you do not pay more than your fair share in property taxes. If you think your assessment is not comparable to similar homes you should consider appealing (if you would like a free second opinion contact us). Successfully appealing in a reassessment year may provide 3 years of savings on your future property tax bills. The amount of success you are able to achieve on your property tax appeal depends on the strength of your appeal argument.
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The Cook County Assessor’s office mailed 2018 assessment notices to Rich Township property owners on Tuesday, September 4th. The 30 day window for homeowners in Rich Township to appeal their assessments is now open until the deadline of Thursday, October 4th.
The following suburbs are located in Rich Township: Country Club Hills, Flossmoor (west ¾), Frankfort (small portion), Hazel Crest, Homewood, Matteson (majority), Olympia Fields (vast majority), Park Forest (north ¾), Richton Park, Tinley Park (portion), University Park (portion).
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Hanover Township 2018 assessment notices were mailed by the Cook County Assessor’s office on Wednesday, August 29th. The 30 day window for homeowners in Hanover Township to appeal their assessments is now open until the deadline of Monday, October 1st.
The following suburbs are located in Hanover Township: Bartlett, Elgin, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg (west edge), South Barrington (south edge), and Streamwood.
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